The addition of a penny-per-ounce tax on sweetened drinks would prevent close to 100,000 cases of heart disease, 8,000 strokes and 26,000 deaths per year says a group of scientists from the University of California at San Francisco, SF General Hospital and Columbia University who analyzed the effect of a nationwide tax on sugary beverages. "You would also prevent 240,000 cases of diabetes per year," says Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, UCSF. Besides $13 billion in direct revenue, researchers estimate that such a tax would save $17 billion annually in healthcare expenses from obesity-related diseases. Researchers based their analysis on the fact that Americans drink 13.8 billion gallons of sugary beverages per year and projections on how much less they’d consume if the tax was imposed.

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AmeriBev at 6:14 am on July 27, 2015

Importantly, the findings cited here cannot and do not prove cause and effect. Sugar-sweetened beverages are safe, and can be integrated to a healthy diet, just as with other sources of calories. According to the Mayo Clinic (http://wb.md/1y1YIC7), the best way to prevent nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is to maintain a healthy weight and enjoy a balanced diet and active life in order to do so. This is a far more productive piece of advice, and one that is rooted in sound science.-American Beverage Association